Tom Gaynor (pictured), employee benefits director at MetLife UK, said: “Complaining about your boss is not unusual but clearly when the behaviour of management is increasing stress in the workplace there is an issue to be addressed beyond trivial moaning.

“Some stress is good and of course most people need clear goals and challenges to perform at their best, but when it is causing extended absences action needs to be taken. Managers should be ensuring stress is tackled before it becomes a problem, not contributing to it.”